Tiger Sea Nettle Jellyfish

Have you ever tried to take photographs in thick fog? Have a look at my recent underwater pictures taken in some of the worst conditions ever. It is a photographers challenge to make the best of poor conditions, isn't it. And luck was with me when I encountered quite a few Tiger Sea Nettles (Chrysaora wurlerra).

The following three pictures are a compromise between showing conditions encountered and also trying to find artistic ways to make it look harmonious. The water was green, the visibility was never more than 1.5 metres and not for very long. During big parts of the scuba dive I could only see about 1 metre. It was a constant search for visibility, an attempt not to bump into rocks, especially when the frequent passing boats caused total whiteouts. Often I could not see my own hand when I stretched it out, trying to get the light as far away from me as I could. And on a regular basis, I felt like floating in a pot of porridge with flakes, flotsam and silt all around me.

Needless to say, that I didn't appreciate the potentially painful Tiger Sea Nettles to show up in those conditions. Actually, I had been keen to get more and better photos of them. But they seem to like green water. So, again, these are no clear shots. But I still love them. What looks like backscatter is not to be photoshopped and not due to bad lighting. If anything, the opposite I feel guilty about, namely not showing more of the soup.

And for the nudibranch lovers: I found another personal new Seaway species. In my branching career at the Seaway I had managed to find so many species of branchs, some new to the world, some new to Australia and some new to the area. But finally, finally I managed to find what every child would know is certainly to be encountered at the Seaway because it is one of the most common species for this sort of habitat.

1

This is the manipulated version. It is uncropped. I assume that it should be turned 90 degrees to the left because the jellyfish was swimming sideways away from me. I liked the Seaway to look like a steep cliff wall and decided to leave it that way. But on second thoughts, I think this might be a rock and not the Seaway wall after all. Anyway... in order to have the light coming more from the top (which is the left), I applied a graduated filter lightening up the top half of the picture. Of course, the colour has been manipulated from green/yellow into more of a blue. It gives that dreamy, sombre, gloomy look and expresses the feelings of danger, hopelessness and disorientation.

2

 Uncropped picture. Only clarity increased a bit. The picture not only shows the tristesse of the environment but also the beautiful top pattern of this jellyfish. It looks like a stamp of authenticity for green water.

3

 Uncropped picture. Only clarity increased a bit. The most authentic picture for me, showing no visibility at all and quite a bit of floating stuff. It shows the jelly from the side. Quite a few of the jelly fish didn't have any or only small tentacles (like this one). Some were swimming fast and in one direction, while other individuals were hanging around. Some were midwater, some around the seabed, some swimming up, some down, some with the current, some against it.

4

Uncropped picture. Only clarity increased a bit. I think this jelly is digesting some prey. At least it looks like the back fin of a fish is still sticking out. In my opinion, the photo suggests that the visibility was endless which is totally deceiving. It was after all like diving in thick green fog with chunks of floaty bits.